Tracking toy



July 17, 1955 W. P, AULL 2,754,598

TRACKING TOY Filed May 20, 1954 United States Patent O TRACKING TOYWatson P. Aull, St. Louis, Mo.

Application May 20, 1954, Serial N o. 431,059

6 Claims. (Cl. 36-1) This invention relates to improvements in childrenstoys, and in particular is concerned with a shoe heel attachment whichis adapted to be used as a track laying device. The shoe Yheelattachment of this invention is adapted to be worn on a conventionalshoe and is provided with a metallic, horseshoe-like element which givesolf a simulated sound of a horses hoof when striking a hard surface. Inaddition, there is an identifying symbol which is used as a markingdevice to make possible the recognition of a particular track laid downby the shoe heel attachment.

By means of this invention, the shoe heel attachment can be worn on anyconventional footwear in s uch manner that `a child when Wearing thesame can give oft" the sound of a horses hoof when traveling overpavement or hard surfaces. Thus, in playing games like cowboys andIndians, children can, by means of this invention, imagine by the soundgiven E that there are horses in the immediate neighborhood, and thisprovides realism to their vivid imagination.

As a further feature, the shoe heel attachment is adapted to lay downthe imprint of a small horseshoe when worn upon the ground or anysurface in which a track can be imprinted. Thus, a game of `tracking canbe practiced in which `the horseshoe-like tracks are followed as in agame of hide-and-seek, or the like.

Further, to provide for identifying one set of horseshoe tracks fromanother in the gaine of hide-and-seek or hare-and-hounds, and othersimilar games, the shoe heel attachment is provided with a compressibleidentifying symbol which is replaceable. Thus, any number of appropriateidentifying symbols can be used so that, if two sides of children wantto use different identifying symbols, they can be provided, for example,with Separate posse and star insignia which would, of course, beapplicable to a game of cowboys and Indians.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an attachmentfor shoes which can be Worn by children so as to simulate the sound of ahorses hoof upon hard surfaces.

It is a further lobject of this invention to provide an attachment whichcan be worn on footwear to simulate the sound of a horses hoof whenpassing over a hard surface and to lay down the track of a horseshoe.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an attachment forshoes which is adapted to give the sound of a horses hoof when strikinga hard surface and to lay down a horseshoe track and an identifyinginsignia therein, so that one setof horseshoe tracks may be identifiedfrom another.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a Shoe heelattachment which can be worn on conventional shoes of a simplestructure, and in which a horseshoelike element is fastened on thebottom plate and a resilient marking device is placed therein in aremovable manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe heel attachment ofthe type described wherein the mate- Patented July 17, 1956 rice rialsand construction are of a rugged character and simple to construct, yetof a simple and inexpensive nature.

Further objects of this invention will appear from the detaileddescription which follows and will be further apparent to those skilledin the art.

Reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings showing aparticular embodiment of this invention, which is for the purpose ofillustration only, and it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an isometric View showing the shoe heel attachment of thisinvention attached to a wearers foot;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the shoe heel attachment;

Figure 3 is a front View in elevation of the device;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the device;

Figure 5 is a side View in elevation taken from the righ side of Figure3 of the device;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is an enlarged View of a marking symbol; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged View of a modified marking symbol.

The shoe heel attachment of this invention is generally indicated at 10in Figure 1 and is shown there connected to a wearers shoe 11. The shoeheel attachment is placed on the bottom of the shoe heel 12 and isretained by a strap 13 which is tied around the ankle of the wearer.

The shoe heel attachment 1th, as particularly shown in Figures 2 through6, comprises a plate-like support member or base 14 to which areconnected heel engaging rear ange 15 and side flanges 16 and 1'7, Theside ilanges 16 and 17 are both provided with slots 18 and 19,respectively, in order that the strap 13 may be retained on said sideflanges.

Depending from the bottom of the plateflike support member 14 is ametallic horseshoe-like element 21. This element is connected to thesupport member by welding, riveting, or may be cast integrally with thesupport member, as is well understood in the art. The horseshoe-likeelement 21 has two legs 22 and 23 which are spaced from one another attheir open ends and point to the rear .of the heel.

A slightly compressible marking element, which is generally indicated at24, is made of rubber or plastic and is provided with two holes throughwhich pins 25 and 2,6 are inserted to connect the marking element to thesupport member, as shown in Figures 2 and 6. A raised mark, such as thestar shown in Figures 4 and 7, is offset from the base of the markingelement and is indicatedV at 27. This raised mark extends slightly belowthe ilat surface of the horseshoe-like element, as particularly shown inFigure 6, and is adapted to be compressed by the weight of the wearer toabout the same plane as the bottom surface of said horseshoe-likeelement.

A modified form of marking element 29 is shown in Figure 8 wherein theoffset letters forming the word Posse indicated at 28 provide for adifferent marking and identifying indicia. Thus, by the removal of onemarking element for another, proper identification can be provided asdesired.

Use

The shoe heel attachment generally indicated at 10 is very easilyretained on the heel of a shoe, as shown in Figure l, by tying thestraps 13 together over the instep of the foot. Of course, it is obviousthat buckles andthe like 4may be used instead of tying. Once retained onVthe foot, the shoe heel attachment is ready to be used in tr-ack layingand in other games.

When the shoe heel attachment 10 is worn upon a hard surface, themetallic horseshoe-like element 21 will hit thereupon and form aclomping noise simulating the noise caused by a horses hoof on hardsurfaces. Thus, the member 14 forms with the hard surface of the grounda top and bottom confining means dening a sounding board further boundedby the horseshoe itself which is open in the rear of the attachment.This sounding board, by the force of impact, is designed to give off ahollow noise like the aforementioned clomping of a horses hoof.

The resilient marking symbol 24 placed in the middle of thehorseshoe-like element is noiseless and does not distort the sound ofthe track laying device when it is worn upon a hard surface and is ofparticular advantage because of this feature. Such distortion whichmight be caused by a metallic marking symbol is to be avoided. When thetrack laying device is worn upon soft ground it imprints a track of ahorseshoe and, in addition, a star from the marking symbol, as shown inFig. 4, where the marking elements 24 and 27 are utilized. Thus, thisparticular track laying device can be distinguished from the markingelement 29 of Figure 8 having the word Posse formed thereon at 28.

Further, by the slightly elevated relation of the actual marking devices27 and 28 of the marking elements 24 and 29, respectively, a slightcompression is effected due to the resiliency of the materials. This isof particular advantage in the laying of tracks with the identifyingindicia upon soft ground where the marking element hits rst and is thencompressed to the level of the horseshoe element. Further, when thetrack laying device is worn over a hard surface after first being wornover soft or moistened ground, say in puddles of water, an imprinting ofthe star 27 or the word Posse 28 is laid down upon the dry hard surfacewhich can be easily followed until the marking element dries out.

The marking elements 24 and 29 are removable from the support member 14upon removal of pins 25 and 26. This provides for readyinterchangeability of the marking element and also replacement when thisis necessitated by wear conditions.

Various changes and modifications will appear to those skilled in theart in accordance with the teachings of this invention and are withinthe scope thereof, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. An attachment for the heel of a shoe comprising a plate-like supportmember, shoe attaching means for connecting said support member to theheel of the shoe, said support member having means at the bottom thereofto simulate the sound of a horses hoof when the shoe attachment is wornwhile traversing a hard surface, said means including a metallichorseshoe-like element depending below the bottom of said supportmember, said horseshoe-like element having a at bottom surface spacedbeneath said support member and being open at the end corresponding tothe rear of the heel to provide a sounding board when the horseshoe-likeelement shoe attachment strikes the hard surface, said sounding boardbeing defined at the bottom by the hard surface, at the side by thehorseshoe-like element, and at the top by the bottom of the supportmember.

2. An attachment for the bottom of a shoe comprising a plate-likesupport member, shoe attaching means for connecting said support memberto the bottom of the shoe, a metallic horseshoe-like element dependingfrom the bottom of said support member, said horseshoe-like elementhaving a flat bottom surface spaced beneath said support member andbeing open at one end, and a marking element situated within saidhorseshoe-like element to leave an identifying mark upon the ground whenthe attachment is impressed thereupon.

3. An attachment for the bottom of a shoe comprising a plate-likesupport member, shoe attaching means for connecting said support memberto the bottom of the shoe, a horseshoe-like element depending from thebottom of said support member, said horseshoe-like element having a Hatbottom surface spaced beneath said support member and being open at oneend, and a removable marking element situated within said horseshoe-likeelement to leave an identifying mark upon the ground when the attachmentis impressed thereupon, said marking element being composed of aslightly compressible material and extending slightly below saidhorseshoe-like element.

4. An attachment for the bottom of a shoe comprising a plate-likesupport member, shoe attaching means for connecting said support memberto the bottom of the shoe, said support member having means at thebottom thereof to simulate the sound of a horses hoof when the shoeattachment is worn while traversing a hard surface, said means includinga metallic horseshoe-like element depending below the bottom of saidsupport member, said horseshoe-like element having a flat bottom surfacespaced beneath said support member and being open at one end to providea sounding board when the shoe attachment strikes the hard surface, saidsounding board being defined at the bottom by the hard surface, at theside by the horseshoe-like element, and at the top by the bottom of thesupport member, and a marking element situated within saidhorseshoe-like element to leave an identifying mark upon the ground whenthe attachment is impressed thereupon.

5. An attachment for the bottom of a shoe comprising a plate-likesupport member, shoe attaching means for connecting said support memberto the bottom of the shoe, said support member having means at thebottom thereof to simulate the sound of a horses hoof when the shoeattachment is worn while traversing a hard surface, said means includinga metallic horseshoe-like element depending below the bottom of saidsupport member, said horseshoe-like element having a at bottom surfacespaced beneath said support member and being open at one end to providea sounding board when the shoe attachment strikes the hard surface, saidsounding board being dened at the bottom by the hard surface, at theside by the horseshoe-like element, and at the top by the bottom of thesupport member, and a marking element situated within saidhorseshoe-like element to leave an identifying mark upon the ground whenthe attachment is impressed thereupon, said marking element beingcomposed of a slightly compressible material and extending slightlybelow said horseshoe-like element whereby said marking element iscompressed within the bounds of the sounding board.

6. An attachment for the bottom of a shoe comprising a plate-likesupport member, shoe attaching means for connecting said support memberto the bottom of the shoe, a horseshoe-like element connected to thebottom of said support member, said horseshoe-like element having a flatbottom surface spaced beneath said support member and being open at oneend, and a marking element situated within said horseshoe-like elementto leave an identifying mark upon the ground when the attachment isimpressed thereupon, said marking element being composed of a materialhaving less sound-imparting qualities than said horseshoe-like elementwhen these elements strike a hard surface.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.97,311 Troy Oct. 22, 1935 2,037,105 West Apr. 14, 1936 2,089,136 RosineAug. 3, 1937 2,616,189 Smith NOV. 4, 1952

